Islands Controversy Haunts 6th Anniversary of Egypt's Revolution

Six years after Egyptians rose up against the political authoritarianism and economic incompetence of the Mubarak regime, the potential transfer of two strategic islands to Saudi Arabia serves as a bitter reminder that, since the heady days of 2011, things have only gotten worse.

Since Egyptians woke up on 8 April 2016 to the news that their government had signed a demarcation agreement unilaterally ceding part of its maritime territory to Saudi Arabia, the legality of the transfer has become a lightning rod for dissent and a symbol of the increasingly authoritarian and unaccountable rule of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Just days before the sixth anniversary of Egypt’s January 25th revolution, Egypt’s High Administrative Court unanimously and unequivocally ruled the demarcation agreement null and void. The government is now faced with either an embarrassing climb-down or a bruising confrontation with both popular opinion and its own judiciary. At a time when Egyptians reflect on the aftermath of the Arab Spring, their government should heed the warning of history and back down.